Venezuela Media

The communication services and media in Venezuela are acceptable, and still being developed.

Telephone
The main telephone network in Venezuela is operated by CANTV and offers an efficient service for both local and international calls. International calls are a bit expensive but you can find some private offices offering cheaper international phone calls via call back systems.

Public telephones are available over the country, so it is not difficult to find a phone to make calls. All public telephones accept telephone CANTV and can be purchased from CANTV offices and most supermarkets and souvenirs shops, there are cards available for Bs. 2.000 - Bs.F. 2,00 y Bs. 5.000 - Bs.F. 5,00.

The international code for Venezuela is 58. For international calls from Venezuela, dial 00+country code.

To make calls to other cities within Venezuela you have to use city/area codes that consists of 3 digits before the phone number, for example to call to Caracas you should dial (0) 212 + number.

If you need assistance you can call to the number 103 and an operator will assist you.

Mobiles
The companies operating in Venezuela for mobiles are Movilnet, a division of CANTV, Movistar, and Digitel.

Each company uses its own phone code, for instance calls to Movilnet must start with the 0416/0426 code, Telefonica Movistar, formerly Telcel, starts with 0414/0424 and use both CDMA & GSM (GSM 850 MHz). Digitel uses 0412 and uses GSM (GSM 900 Mhz). It is possible to buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card for Digitel's GSM phones, but make sure your phone is unlocked. A pay-as-you-go Digitel card is working straightaway when bought from any official retailer. The cost of the card is around 20 VEF (new bolivares).

You may use your phone with a foreign SIM card in roaming. Check: www.gsmworld.com or call to your operator for roaming information to Venezuela. Movilnet and Movistar will require quad-band phones for European users, Digitel will work with any European phone. Tourists from other than European countries should check their phones if the phone will work with the above bands.

Internet
There are Internet cafes or agencies in most urban areas that offer internet services. However, as the internet in Venezuela is just beginning, these establishments might be difficult to find and prices are still quite high.

Mail
Mail service from Venezuela is slow, unreliable and could take anywhere from a week to a month to arrive.

Postal offices are difficult to find, so always take your letters and parcels to the local mail office (IPOSTEL), and try to send mail from major tourist towns. For important mail, either use a courier or send it registered/certified (certificado).